“The Goophered Grapevine” by Charles Chesnutt Essay

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For one to have a clear understanding of a certain culture there is the need to have come across or interacted with people from the culture in question. Interacting with people helps one to clearly understand their norms, customs, and beliefs, making it possible for one to relate with the culture as well as clearly describe the culture. In most cases, authors make their representation about cultures based on what they have observed for a short period or heard from friends. This makes it hard for authors to bring out the true nature of the culture. Most of their assertions sound malicious and are often not consistent with the actual culture they represent. This paper is aimed at discussing how Chesnutt has represented the grape culture in northern Ohio.

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Based on Charles’s conclusion about the land even after being given its history and how it had cost the lives of various blacks, he sounds not absolutely believe in the power of witches amongst the community. Uncle Julius took a lot of time trying to convince him on the reasons why the land had been neglected for a long time and the beliefs that people had on the land. To him, it sounded like the culture was just a way of enriching oneself, like in the case of Mars Dugal, and this could not deter him from exploiting the potential the land had. He represents the grape culture as one that is dominated by illiterate and selfish people. Some could use all they could to ensure that no one else benefited from the culture of growing grapes but them (Chesnutt para. 3). The African Americans are seen to be entrenched in their belief in witchcraft to an extent that they appear disinterested in being involved with vineyards in any way. It sounds that the practice of witchcraft among the people worked effectively. For many years, those who were aware of the bewitching of the land avoided getting involved in the land. Narration by Julius on how people died after eating grapes from the land makes it sound real. The Agony that Henry went through after eating grapes, unaware that they had been ‘treated’ to protect people from eating them makes the practice of witchcraft in the community sound real.

It looks like people in the community feared being bewitched. For many years, the blacks could walk for miles to go and pick the grapes. However, when they learned that the vineyard had been bewitched, they all stopped picking grapes from it. Despite Charles buying the vineyard and venturing into the production of grapes, the blacks are still seen to believe that the land was bewitched. They are never seen to have the appetite of eating grapes. To Charles, it does not seem that what Julius explained to them was real. To him, this sounds like a conspiracy from Julius to prevent him from buying the land as he had benefited from it for a long time. This brings out the culture as just a mere belief among those who lived there at the time and had no effects on those who did not believe in it (Chesnutt para. 21).

Presentation of this culture relates to other cultural aspects found in literature especially those that explain some cultural beliefs among African communities. For many years, various communities have been prohibited from such practices as educating the girl child due to the belief that girls are supposed to be involved in domestic chores. This has resulted in men dominating the workplace; although this culture has gradually changed as people continue learning about the potential women have in as far as community development is concerned.

Works Cited

Chesnutt, Charles. The goophered grapevine. 1887. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2021, December 10). "The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-goophered-grapevine-by-charles-chesnutt/

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""The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt." IvyPanda, 10 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/the-goophered-grapevine-by-charles-chesnutt/.

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IvyPanda. 2021. ""The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt." December 10, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-goophered-grapevine-by-charles-chesnutt/.

1. IvyPanda. ""The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt." December 10, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-goophered-grapevine-by-charles-chesnutt/.


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IvyPanda. ""The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt." December 10, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-goophered-grapevine-by-charles-chesnutt/.

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